The present invention relates generally to prosthetic joints and, more particularly, to modular orthopaedic lower extremity implant systems.
The knee joint basically consists of the bone interface of the distal end of the femur and the proximal end of the tibia. Appearing to cover or at least partially protect this interface is the patella which is a sesamoid bone within the tendon of the long muscle (quadriceps) on the front of the thigh. This tendon inserts into the tibial tuberosity and the posterior surface of the patella is smooth and glides over the femur.
The distal femur is configured with two knob like processes (the medial condyle and the lateral condyle) which are substantially smooth and which articulate with the medial plateau and the lateral plateau of the tibia, respectively. The plateaus of the tibia are substantially smooth and slightly cupped thereby providing a slight receptacle for receipt of the femoral condyles.
The hip joint consists of the bone interface of the proximal end of the femur and the acetabulum of the hipbone. The proximal femur is configured with a ball-shaped head, which is received within and articulates against the cup-shaped cavity defined by the acetabulum.
When the knee or hip joint is damaged whether as a result of an accident or illness, a prosthetic replacement of the damaged joint may be necessary to relieve pain and to restore normal use to the joint. Typically the entire joint is replaced by means of a surgical procedure, which involves removal of the surfaces of the corresponding damaged bones and replacement of these surfaces with prosthetic implants. This replacement of a native joint of the leg with a prosthetic joint is referred to as primary total-knee arthroplasty and primary total-hip arthroplasty.
On occasion, the primary prosthesis fails. Failure can result from many causes, including wear, aseptic loosening, osteolysis, ligamentous instability, arthrofibrosis and patellofemoral complications. When the failure is debilitating, revision surgery may be necessary. In a revision, the primary prosthesis is removed and replaced with components of a revision prosthetic system.
Implant systems for both primary and revision applications are available from a variety of manufacturers, including DePuy Orthopaedics, Inc. of Warsaw, Ind. DePuy and others offer several different systems for both primary and revision applications. For example, DePuy Orthopaedics offers the P.F.C. SIGMA® Knee System, the LCS® Total Knee System, and the S-ROM Modular Total Knee System. Each of these orthopaedic knee systems includes several components, some appropriate for use in primary knee arthroplasty and some appropriate for use in revision surgery.
DePuy Orthopaedics also offers other orthopaedic implant systems for other applications. One such system is the LPS System. The LPS System is provided for use in cases of neoplastic diseases (e.g., osteosarcomas, chrondrosarcomas, giant cell tumors, bone tumors) requiring extensive resections and replacements of the proximal and/or distal femur, severe trauma, disease (e.g., avascular necrosis, osteoarthritis and inflammatory joint disease requiring extensive resection and replacement of the proximal and/or distal femur, and resection cases requiring extensive resection and replacement of the proximal, distal or total femur or proximal tibia (e.g., end-stage revision). Any of these conditions or a combination thereof can lead to significant amounts of bone loss. The LPS System provides components that can replace all or significant portions of a particular bone, such as the femur or tibia. The DePuy LPS System is described more fully in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/135,791, entitled “Modular Limb Preservation System”, filed Apr. 30, 2002 by Hazebrouck et al., U.S. Pat. Publication No. US2003/0204267A1 (published Oct. 30, 2003) which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety. Other companies also offer systems for similar indications.
The LPS system provides a comprehensive set of modular implants capable of addressing a wide range of orthopaedic conditions. Components of the LPS system can be combined in a variety of ways to account for variations in patient anatomy and differences in the amount of native bone remaining. As disclosed in U.S. Pat. Publication No. US2003/0204267A1, the modular components can be combined to replace the proximal or distal femur, total femur, proximal tibia or the mid-shaft of a long bone. Similar systems can be used with other long bones, such as the bones of the upper arm.
Many of the combinations of components possible with the LPS system include stem components that are configured for implantation within the intramedullary canal of the remaining bone. Metaphyseal sleeves are available for use in the LPS system, as disclosed, for example, in U.S. Pat. Publication No. US2005/0107883A1, entitled “Modular Implant System with Fully Porous Coated Sleeve” (filed on Apr. 2, 2004 by Goodfried, Hazebrouck, Lester and Brown), which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety. However, in some instances, the stem components must be used with implant components that have replaced the entire articulating portion of the bone and the metaphysis of the bone. In some indications, the remaining native bone comprises the diaphysis or shaft of the long bone, and a metaphyseal sleeve cannot be used.
An example of a long bone is illustrated in FIG. 1; in FIG. 1, the bone 10 is the femur. FIG. 2 illustrates the femur of FIG. 1 after the distal articulating end 12 and metaphysis 14 of the bone 10 have been removed due to neoplastic disease, trauma, disease or as part of an end-stage revision. The diaphysis of the bone is illustrated at 16 in FIGS. 1-2.
As shown in FIG. 2, the intramedullary canal 18 of the diaphysis 16 of the long bone 10 generally tapers, while the implant stem extensions 20 generally have parallel sides, such as those shown at 22, 24. As a result, the implant stem extension 20 frequently contacts the native bone tissue at the free end or tip 28 of the stem extension 20, while leaving gaps 30 along much of the length of the stem extension 20. Although these gaps 30 could be filled with bone cement, for optimal fixation it is desirable to use porous coated stem extensions. Such porous coated stem extensions tend to bind before becoming fully seated. Consequently, in cases where the stem extension is porous coated to encourage bone ingrowth, the bone ingrowth is frequently limited to the free end 28 of the stem. With bone ingrowth limited to the free end of the stem extension, there is stress shielding of the bone surrounding the remainder of the stem extension, and a long lever arm is created; both of these effects can lead to early loosening of the implant. Additionally, when significant ingrowth does occur and the stem extension must subsequently be removed, the procedure can be difficult.